ERIE, Colo. (AP) — “Gus” the turkey has been spending Thanksgiving week much differently than millions of other unlucky gobblers across the U.S.

As he trots in a sprawling animal sanctuary on the Colorado plains, he is stopped every few steps by staff who pet him, hug him or even give him a peck on his red face. Gus has been there since 2023 after being pardoned by the governor.

“What do you think? Do you want to do snuggles today?” Lanette Cook, education and engagement manager at the Luvin Arms Animal Sanctuary in Erie, says to Gus.

Gus is among a growing number of turkeys that are being “adopted” instead of being covered in gravy and eaten at Thanksgiving dinner tables.

An increasing number of farm animal sanctuaries across the country have started promoting this alternative version of Thanksgiving in which families “adopt” turkeys and donate money to their lifelong care. In return, they receive photos, certificates and sometimes even one-on-one visits with the birds.

The goal: Spare a few of the tens of millions of turkeys slaughtered this time of year, many of which are raised in what animal rights advocates say are inhumane conditions in factory farms.

At Luvin Arms, a $25 donation comes with a certificate, photo and either a virtual or in-person visit, explained Kelly Nix, its executive director. Since launching the program in 2022, the sanctuary, located about 25 miles (40 kilometers) north of Denver, has seen the number of sponsorships double every year. And this year they’re on track to reach their goal of $18,000, she said.

Luvin Arms’ website features Gus and a gaggle of turkeys along with their personality traits (Gus is very talkative!) as part of its sponsor-a-turkey program. It encourages the public to donate for the birds for Thanksgiving and maybe even rethink their holiday traditions.

The funds have helped pay for extending the turkeys’ outdoor pasture area, along with feeding and rescuing more turkeys. They’ve helped with veterinary bills, which can sometimes cost thousands of dollars because of the medical complications that arise for turkeys that come from factory farms, which breed them to grow very big in a short period of time, said Nix. In the wild, turkeys tend to live an average of three or four years, according to the National Wild Turkey Federation.

But the sanctuary says the program is about more than just the turkeys or money. There’s also an important educational factor, including the conditions in factory farms and that turkeys are more than just centerpieces.

“Even if it makes you stop and double think what it is you’re about to do,” said Nix. “Or that you’re like, ‘wow this is a life of a sentient being,’ for us that’s a conversation starter.”

Farm Sanctuary, which is located in New York and California, is believed to be the first to launch this type of turkey adoption program, starting in 1986. Gene Baur, its president and co-founder, said initially the public was confused about the program and the concept of rescuing farm animals altogether.

In the nearly four decades since, the sanctuary has rescued thousands of turkeys. And the public has not only caught on to the concept but in some years has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars, Baur said.

“We grow up with certain traditions. But just because something is a tradition doesn’t mean that it needs to remain as a tradition,” said Baur.

Lizzie Parra’s family has been adopting a turkey from the organization since 2021, ever since they visited a sanctuary in Pittsburgh and a turkey followed them around, seemingly desperate to be a part of their tour group.

She, her husband and 11-year-old son are vegan and so always leave turkey off their Thanksgiving table. But Parra said the adoption program gives them a chance to help save turkeys while raising awareness.

“This is just an opportunity for us to tell people that they can, at least for one meal, kind of make the same compassionate choice,” she said.

Barn Sanctuary has had a similar program since 2023 in Chelsea, Michigan. Chase DeBack, its advocacy, education and engagement coordinator, said it’s about shining a more positive light on the birds and their distinct personalities.

He rattles off some of the organization’s residents like they’re close friends: Lewis isn’t much of a people person. Sabrina and Hilda are always interested in what people are bringing into the coop.

“We really wanted to shine a light on the unique personalities that turkeys have and how loving and caring they are for humans and for each other,” said DeBack.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Tyson Foods’ decision to close a beef plant that employs nearly one third of residents of Lexington, Nebraska, could devastate the small city and undermine the profits of ranchers nationwide.

Closing a single slaughterhouse might not seem significant, but the Lexington plant employs roughly 3,200 people in the city of 11,000 and has the capacity to slaughter some 5,000 head of cattle a day. Tyson also plans to cut one of the two shifts at a plant in Amarillo, Texas, and eliminate 1,700 jobs there. Together those two moves will reduce beef processing capacity nationwide by 7-9%.

Consumers may not see prices change much at the grocery store over the next six months because all the cattle that are now being prepared for slaughter will still be processed, potentially just at a different plant. But in the long run, beef prices may continue to climb even higher than the current record highs — caused by a variety of factors from drought to tariffs — unless American ranchers decide to raise more cattle, which they have little incentive to do.

An increase in beef imports from Brazil, like President Donald Trump encouraged last week by slashing tariffs on the South American country, may help insulate consumers while ranchers and feedlots struggle with high costs and falling prices.

Here’s what we know about the impact of the plant closure and the changing tariffs:

A ‘gut punch’ to the community

Clay Patton, vice president of the Lexington-area Chamber of Commerce said Monday that Tyson’s announcement Friday felt like a “gut punch” to the community in the Platte River Valley that serves as a key link in the agricultural production chain.

When it opened in 1990, the Lexington plant that Tyson later acquired revitalized and remade the formerly dwindling town by attracting thousands of immigrants to work there and nearly doubling the population.

When the plant closes in January, the ripple effects will be felt throughout the community, undermining many first-generation business owners and the investment in new housing, Patton said. Tyson said it will offer Lexington workers the chance to move to take open jobs at one of its other plants if they are willing to uproot their families for jobs hundreds of miles away.

“I’m hopeful that we can come through this and we’ll actually become better on the other side of it,” Patton said.

Elmer Armijo was struck by how established the community was when he moved to Lexington last summer to lead First United Methodist Church. He described solid job security, good schools and health care systems and urban development — all in doubt now.

“People are completely worried,” Armijo said. “The economy in Lexington is based in Tyson.”

Many local churches, Armijo’s included, are already offering counseling, food pantries and gas vouchers for community members.

Cattle prices falling in response

The prospect of losing a major buyer for cattle and increasing imports from Brazil, which already accounted for 24% of the beef brought into the country this year, only adds to doubts about how profitable the U.S. cattle business might be over the next several years, making it less likely that American ranchers will commit to raising more animals.

“There’s a just a lack of confidence in the industry right now. And producers are unwilling to make the investment to rebuild,” said Bill Bullard, president of Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund United Stockgrowers of America.

Boosting imports from Brazil has the potential to affect the market — much more than Trump’s suggestion to increase imports from Argentina — since the country sends more beef to America than any other. But for steak lovers, the sky-high price of the cut isn’t likely to be affected regardless, as most imports are lean trimmings that get mixed into ground beef.

Kansas State University agricultural economist Glynn Tonsor said it’s hard to predict whether imports will continue to account for roughly 20% of the U.S. beef supply next year. He pointed out that Trump’s tariffs have changed several times since they were announced in the spring and could quickly change again.

The only constant in the equation has been that consumers have continued to buy beef even as prices soar. Tonsor said on average Americans will consume 59 pounds (27 kilograms) of beef per person this year.

Tyson faces continued losses in the beef business

There has long been excess capacity in the meat business nationwide, meaning the nation’s slaughterhouses could handle many more cattle than they are processing. That has only been made worse in recent years as the government has encouraged more smaller companies to open slaughterhouses to compete with Tyson and the other giants that dominate the beef business.

Tyson expects to lose more than $600 million on beef production this year after already reporting $720 million of red ink in beef over the past two years.

Tonsor said it was inevitable that at least one beef plant would close. Afterward, Tyson’s remaining plants will be able to operate more efficiently at closer to full capacity.

Ernie Goss, an economist at Creighton University in Omaha, said the Lexington plant likely wasn’t measuring up in the industry increasingly reliant on technological advancements that enhance productivity.

“It’s very difficult to renovate or make the old plant fit the new world,” said Goss, who completed an impact study for a new Sustainable Beef plant. The Lexington facility “just wasn’t competitive right now in today’s environment in terms of output per worker.”